Soul Echo
by freakiin.ruby
Summary: Dean has a lot to learn. A lot to learn about Ruby. Ruby, the soldier. Ruby, her life, her secrets, her story. And he has to learn that they're both so very much alike...
1. This isn't leading nowhere

**Title: **Soul Echo

**Genre: **Suspense/Hurt/Comfort

**Characters: **Dean Winchester, Real!Ruby

**Couples: **Duby

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Supernatural, any of the characters, or any song used within the story.

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_Soul Echo_

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by freakiinruby

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**[Chapter One: This isn't leading nowhere.]**

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_Days before you came  
Freezing cold and empty  
Towns that change their name  
And a horn of plenty_

_- _Placebo; Days before you came

* * *

_Pain. _Everything, she feels, is pain. In her bones, her head, her heart, her soul. She still lies on the cold stone, trying to be able to breathe again. She wishes, someone would hold out their hand te help her up, but she knows, that's never going to happen. In her entire life, no one has ever been there to catch her before falling, and no one has ever been there to put her to her feet once she was down again. And she's been around on earth for a while. She is used to it. She is used, to feeling the pain of the fall, used to ignoring it and pulling herself up again. She's become tougher. She still _is _becoming tougher with every day. Sometimes, she's afraid she will turn into a cold hard bitch like the others one day.

Ruby stands up, ignoring her aching body, like always. She can feel the warm, almost boiling blood run down the back of her head. Run? No, it doesn't run down, it crawls. She scratches her head, as if she has to remember something, but she doesn't know what.

She looks in the mirror in front of her, and if she would be one of those girls who _care _about always looking perfect, she'd be shamed to death now. Her hair, filthy, glued with dried blood. Her skin, with deep scratches and grey mud all over it. Her eyes, with dark rings, blood-shot.

Every thing still hurts. Thousands of scratches, all over her, and they _all _hurt.

She presses together her eyes, frowning. She remembers, this time, she's not alone. There's Sam and Dean, standing there, watching her. They're the last thing she needs right now.

"You go." she commands. "I'll clean up this mess here."

Dean drags his brother away, but then they both turn around again.

"Go!" She says, this time louder, her yes flashing black. She knows her eyes freak them out. If she was in their position, she would get the chills looking at eyes that color, too. They step out of the door. She pulls her knife out of the dead body, which now is just human, nothing of the demon is left. She pulls the body over to the other human's, with the snapped neck. After burning all the corpses, she starts with whiping away all the blood, and fixing the wall. A few hours later, it looks like a terrible accident had just burned the house down.

She leaves it as it is, she _has _other things to do, you know. Like talking to Dean. Pushing him, in the right direction, the direction, that could save him and his brother from hell. Because she already knows, what they're going to start when just one of them gets there.

She stands there, in the shadows, waiting for him. She knows he will come. She watches him, watches him wonder, where the demon, the reason for the flashing light, could stand.

"Ruby." He states. She knows what he's thinking right now. She can't read his thoughts, but his eyes. Not very often she's seen eyes like that. Eyes that tell lifetime stories, eyes that make people stare. The kind of eyes, you stop in the middle of the street to stare at, then get run over by a car. One look, and sometimes, you feel like you've known that person for your whole life. Know what he's thinking. He's thinking about how she saved him today.

She knows how impossible it seems to him, a demon helping him survive.

"So the devil may care after all, is that what I'm supposed to believe?" He asks, harshly, but his eyes are soft.

_Abyzou aka Casey. She told him about her sick 'religion'. What a bitch. _"I don't believe in the devil."

"Aw. So you're not a fellow member of that cult?"

Ruby sighs, opens her mouth to swear, but instead, she sets her jaw again.

Surprised of not getting the bitchy response he expected, Dean continues. "So let me get this straight, you were human once, you died, you went to hell, you became a... "

"Yeah." She cuts off.

Silence. Ruby doesn't see anything to talk about anymore, so she turns to leave.

"How long ago?" Asks Dean.

She doesn't turn around, but doesn't stop their conversation, either. "Back when the plague was big."

"So all of them? Every damn demon? They were all human once?"

"Everyone I've ever met." Her eyes flicker to the floor.

"Then why do they act like evil maniacs?"

_Maybe humans aren't as brilliant as you think. _"Most of them have forgotten what it means. That's what happens when you go to hell Dean. That's what hell is, forgetting what you are." Her blue-green eyes turn sad. Without noticing she let _Dean _make a little crack in her shell.

"Philosophy lessons from a demon, I'll pass, thanks." _Dean _cracked her shell? _Oh, please. This is getting pathetic. _

"Its not philosophy, it's not a metaphor. There's a real fire in the pit, agonies _you_ can't even imagine."

"No, I saw Hellraise, I get the gist."

Ruby smirks at the thought. "Actually, they got that pretty close, except for all the custom leather."

Dean's smaragd eyes turn thoughtfull, while Ruby turns back to him.

Her tone of voice now changes, there's no more scoffing in it. "The answer is yes, by the way."

"Huh? I'm sorry?" He says, inpatiently.

Ruby hates speaking about hell, but to her, in a way, it's getting back on Dean. "Yes, the same thing will happen to you. It might take centuries, but sooner or later hell will burn away your humanity. Every hell bound soul, every one turns into something else. Turns you into us, so yeah, yeah you can count on it."

"There's no way of saving me from the pit is there."

She doesn't reply, he takes it as a no. _Oh, naive little Dean Winchester. If only you knew. Knew, what you two are. To the believers. _"Then why'd you tell Sam you could?" Dean nags.

She looks for an excuse. He's not ready, _by far, _to be told the truth. And, like always, the lie easily slips over her lips. "So he would talk to me, you Winchesters can be pretty bigoted. I needed something to help him get passed the-"

"The demon thing? It's pretty hard to get passed.

Now she wants to yell at him, hit him... _if only he knew. _She's afraid of it to burst out of her. Instead, she shoves in another bitchy comment. "Look at you, tryin' to be all stoic. My god it's heartbreaking."

Then Dean asks the _one _question, she doesn't have a fitting excuse for. _Damn. _"Why are you telling me all this?"

She _has _to choose the truth as answer, because there's no other option. "Because I need your damn asses out of hell."

"Why's that then?"

"If just one of you lands there, you're gonna start the final war. The war, _we _can't win." She shakes her head.

"How do you know that?"

She shakes her head again. "Why am I even talking to you?" She murmurs, more to herself than him. Then she turns and walks away again.

"Ruby!" He calls. "Why do you want us to win?"

Slowly, she turns around. She's totally surprised. It was the last thing she had expected. "Isn't it obvious? I'm not like them, I-I don't know why, I wish I was, but I'm not. I remember what it's like." Suddenly, Dean notices, how beautiful she is. Sure, the thing he calls 'hot' he's seen in her before, but beauty? He's worrying about himself.

"What what's like?" He finally asks.

She gulps, her eyes flicker off the floor, her gaze meeting his. "Being human."

He looks down, lost in his thoughts of hell, demons all that disgusting stuff, and when he looks up again, Ruby has disappeared. "How can stand the pain?" He whispers, knowing himself, that he won't ever get an answer.


	2. No circumstances could excuse

**[Chapter Two; No circumstances could excuse.]

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_Another love I would abuse,  
No circumstances could excuse. _

_- _Placebo; Every You Every Me

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Ruby suddenly starts shivering. It feels like a hand, a hand made from ice, is gripping her neck. She knows that this means: Someone is calling for her. Then she hears it. Just a dark whisper. It's different from all the demonic whispers that reach her, different from all their 'hell-gossip'. It's an Echo. The echo of a scream. It should be loud, but it's just a tiny rest of that cry, so it's silent; sounds like a whisper. She should be terryfied, but she isn't, because the sound in her head is human. She tries to dissolve all the babbling evil demons she hears, so she can concentrate on that one call, so she can follow it.

* * *

The sight of the crowd around the cement building, a police station, doesn't make her happy. She knows exactly, who _they _are, what they are able to do. But they haven't noticed _her._ Some of them maybe never will. Carefully, dimming the sharp sound with her hand, she pulls out her knife. While she aims at a demon's back, one stupid phrase popps into her head: "The Lonely Asassin" Even though she finds it just stupid, it also perfectly fits her, in a way. Very fast, she pushes her weapon through the flesh, killing her first victim. When his body starts flashing, and he drops to the earth, making gurgling noises, his 'friends' start to turn around. They know who she is. They know, that even though she _should _be, she's not one of them. But, they don't know what she's here for.

"Ruby." One of the posessed growls. The next second, her fist hits Ruby's face, but the evil demon can't even blink before she feels a blade cutting through her guts. Then Ruby starts running, hitting on anything in her way, she's got no time for more 'personal' fights. Finally, she reaches a window, a window with a broken salt line. She smashes the window, climbs in. Even though there's a whole in the line, the salt burns her skin. She's injured, her head bleeds and all the hitting broke one or two of her ribs. She wants to step forward, but... she can't. She just can't. _Damn._ She should've known they would put a devil's trap there. Now, people are running into the room, some of them pointing at her with shotguns. One of them is Dean.

"How do we kill her?" One FBI-guy asks.

"We don't." A familiar voice replies. _Sam._

"She's a demon!"

"She's here to help us!"

Ruby scoffs. "Are you gonna let me out?" She asks Sam. Slightly reluctantly, he scrapes of some of the trap's color. Angrily, she scratches the back of her aching head.

"Does anyone have a breath mint?" Harshly, she slips through the officers, a very unfriendly look at her face, that gets even more unfriendly, when she notices Dean, who obviously forgot every single word of their last conversation, follows her. "Some guts splattered in my mouth while I was killing my way in here."

* * *

"We'll need the colt." No response. Everyone avoids her gaze. "Where's the colt?" She repeats, this time louder. Seconds pass, no one speaks.

"It got stolen." Sam finally replies.

"I'm sorry. I must have blood in my ear. I thought I just heard you say that you were stupid enough to let the colt get grabbed out of your thick, clumsy, idiotic hands."

Ruby pushes herself away from the wooden table, which is covered in papers. "Fantastic!" She growls, walking up to the red brick wall. "This is just peachy."

"Ruby..." Dean says in his "calm down, already!"-voice.

"Shut up!" She yells, with her left hand popping up at the same time, stopping his excuse.

She sighs. She's _so _sick of this stupid life. Maybe it's good, if she's going now... she won't be able to safe the world, but screw the world, anyway.

Everyone keeps silent in expectation of another proof that Ruby knows how to swear.

She sets her jaw. "Fine." She turns around, her hands on her hips. "Since I don't see there's any other option, there's one other way I know how to get out of here alive."

Dean raises his eyebrows, stepping closer to her. "And that is?"

"I know a spell. It'll vaporize every demon in a one mile radius, myself included. So, you let the colt out of your sight, and now I have to die. So next time, be more careful. How's that for a dying wish?"

For just a second, Ruby can see sadness flash in Dean's green eyes. He sighs. "What do we need to do?"

She laughs, sarcastically. "Aw, _you _can't do anything. The spell needs a person of _virtue._" She raises on eyebrow.

"I got virtue."

Again, she laughs her crystally laugh. "Honey, you're not a virgin."

Dean replies with laughing himself. "No one's a virgin, hot stuff."

Ruby cocks her head a little, looking at the police station girl.

"No, no way." Dean gasps.

"Save your stupidity for later." Scoffs Ruby.

"So, what can I do? For the spell?" Nancy, the police girl, interrupts their cat fight.

Ruby cocks her head even more. "You can hold still." Now compassion popps into her saphire eyes. "While I cut your heart out of your chest."

"Whoa, wait, are you crazy?!" Dean yells.

Sam, knowing the next step will be Ruby punching his brother if he doesn't act now, grabs Ruby's arm and draggs her into the hall, where no one can hear them. Ruby rolls her eyes when Dean follows them.

"Now listen, demon chick, this doesn't work like in _your _'culture'!" Dean says, loud and angry.

"I'm offering a solution!" She yells.

"You're offering to kill somebody!"

"Oh, don't pretend the demons won't cut out her heart, her eyes _and _her lungs when they get in!"

Dean scoffs, again. "Right, you're the noble demon who kills her victims straightly!"

Even though Sam's there, Ruby's fist now hits Dean's nose, blood shoots out.

Then she stomps off, back to the paper-covered desk, on which she sits down, with crossed legs.

She moans when Dean appears in the corner of her eye. "Ruby. Look, I've got another plan."

Ruby looks up, her nose wrinkled. "You think I'm interested?"

"We'll open the doors, let them all in, and we fight." He continues.

"Dean, this is insane!" Sam tells his brother.

"You win the understatement of the year." Growls Ruby.

"Look." Dean starts. "I get it. You think-"

Ruby hops up again. "For god's sake, I don't think, I _know._ It's not gonna work. You're all dead already." She thinks through everything, tries to do the best thing, and in this case, she decides, _leaving is._ "Se you in hell, boys."

Dean throws back his head. "So you're just gonna leave."

Another load of rage hits him. "Hey! I was gonna kill myself to help you win, I'm not gonna stand here and watch you lose. And I'm disappointed, because I tried, I really did, but clearly I bet on the wrong horse. " She turns to Sam. "Do you mind letting me out?"

With a loud metal rumble, the door opens, Ruby steps out. First thing she does, is pull out her knife with a loud, sharp noise. "I'm _leaving._ Who wants to stop me?" As she steps closer, the demons all part, make a path for her.

Quickly, angrily Ruby knocks. She's surprised that she's got enough self-control to knock, and not just smash the door in. Dean opens the door a small chink whide, when he sees he face he opens it whider. She walks up to the middle of their room, with arms crossed.

"Turn on the news." She commands.

After watching the report, Dean and Sam exchange grave looks.

"Who...?" Sam asks.

"Smart money's on Lillith."

Dean gets ready for the next blast of Ruby's anger. "What happened?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She yells. "Lilith killed everyone. She slaughtered your precious little virgin plus a half a dozen other people. So after your big speech about humanity and war, turns out your plan was the one with the body count. Do you even know how to fight a battle? You strike fast and you don't leave any survivors, so no one can go running to tell the boss. So next time, we go with my plan."

"I'll be right back." Sam says, doubting this was a good idea, then leaves.

Ruby, clearly not in the mood for swearing, bitchy comments and bloody noses, leans on the wall.

"How long?" Dean asks.

"How long what?"

"How long did it take Lillith to kill them?"

A compassionate look on her face, Ruby sinks down onto the floor. "Hours. She was having _fun._"

"So Nancy...?"

Ruby's face turns angry, as she looks up to face Dean. "She tore off little pieces of her skin, until she finally had the mercy to cut out the poor girl's heart!"

"Ruby..." He uses this voice she finds especially annoying now.

She hopps up from the grey carpet so quickly he can barely make out her movement. "And _that _is your fault!" She yells.

He now turns angry, too, though he knows she's right. "Well, you'd be _dead, _then!"

"Oh, please! Like you care!"

He turns away, anything to not meet her gaze. "Yeah, well, maybe I do!"

She scoffs, before leaving.

But suddenly, an odd, nasty new thought shoots through her head. _Maybe he does. Maybe he _really _does._


	3. Leave Me, Teach Me

**[Chapter Three; Leave Me, Teach Me]

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_Hurry, hurry_

_You put my head in such a flurry, flurry_

_Oh freckle, freckle_

_What makes you so special?_

_What makes you so special?_

_I'm gonna leave you_

_I'm gonna teach you_

_How we're all alone_

_- Fall Out Boy; Wams

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Dean sits in some cafe, reading a book, looking totally ordinary to anyone walking past. But it's not ordinary; it's about crossroads, demons, deal, hell. He's there secretly, he doesn't want Sam to know how worried he actually is, it'd just get him even double worried. He's just carefully studying a drawing of hell from some medieval guy, so carefully, he barely notices anything happening aroun him._

"Didn't you figure your brother does the same thing?" Dean jumps at the loud and clear voice, looks up, jumps again, when seing _Ruby _sitting at the other side of the table.

"How long, have you been sitting here?!" He gasps.

She turns her head to the black, long clock hanging over the café's bar. "Three minutes."

"And what was that with my brother?"

Ruby sighs. "He's secretly researching about Deals and stuff in cheap cafés, too."

Angrily, he snaps the book shut. "If you came to tell me that, you can get lost now." He puts the book into his bag, dedicating to the piece of pie some waitress just popped onto the table.

"Anything for you, sweetheart?" She asks Ruby, obviously thinking she's one of those 'a small salad and a small water'-people.

Ruby is glad to prove she's not, because it annoys Dean and because she hasn't had a decent meal in quite a few days. "Fries." She responds, smirking.

"You _do _know that's _my _money you're blowing?" Dean grunts after the waitress is gone.

Ruby raises one eyebrow. "Hey, I get decent fries with ketchup, I leave your pie alone."

"Honey, you don't eat fries with ketchup, you eat ketchup with fries."

She laughs. "You _devour _pie."

"Okay, what do you want?"

Ruby's tooth scratches some of the black color of her thumbnail. "Is it me or did you just run out of insults?"

"Ruby."

She sighs, seeing she can't avoid her request anymore. "I need you to talk to Sam for me."

He leans back, that stupid little smirk on his face. "Aw. She needs me. I'm honored."

Ruby probably would've punched him, if the salty smell of the frais the waitress put onto their table hadn't cooled her down. "There you go." She says, and Ruby gives her most gorgeous, angely smile.

She crosses her legs, grabs the dark red ketchup bottle.

Dean leans over the table, close to her. "So, this whole 'talking to Sam' thing.. what's that all about?"

She swallows a soaking _red _piece of frie. "Tell him to stop summoning random demons to find out about hell." She knew Sam would never listen to her. But his brother might have a chance.

"Hold on, Sam does _what_?!" Dean cuts off a piece of his pie, but when he looks up again, Ruby's already gone. "Stop orbing." He groans.

Ruby walks out of the café, her feet hurrying. She knows Dean's pissed, and the last thing she needs right now is having to fix her broken nose. She turns to a sideway, runs down some dark slippery stairs, leading into a set of high, huge tunnels. Demon base in this town. She's worried because usually these halls aren't that empty. There's only one thing this silence means; silenence before the storm; meaning: _the big boss is coming._ Slowly, she steps forward. There's a light breeze running through her hair. Too late, much too late, she realises, that's not a breeze, it's fingers. Because a few seconds from when she knows, those fingers aren't _running through _her hair, they're _gripping it_, tightly. Ruby tries to get a glance of that person. "Meg Marsters." She groans.

"Ruby." Meg grins. "I told you to cut that hair off, didn't I?"

Ruby's hand searches for her pocket, as Meg's grip makes her stare up to the ceiling, finds what she wants, the little box, wich used to be filled with powder. She tries to twist her hair away from Meg's hand, or at least pertends to, because now, she's in the perfect position. With her thumnail, Ruby ripps a whole into the little box, lets the contents splash into Meg's face.

Meg screams, her eyes turn slightly red, start to sizzle.

"I told you to watch out for the salt, didn't I?" Ruby scoffs.

Meg presses together her eyes in pain, but grabs Ruby's hair again, this time even harder and more brute."Behave, little loudmouth."

White light starts to fill the room, Ruby gulps. "She's cooooming!" Meg laughs.

Ruby uses the blinding flash to escape. She just pulls away from Meg with all her power. Ruby manages to slip away, leaving Meg with a bunch of bloody blonde hair in her hand.

The flashing fades, a little girl stands in the middle of the hall, two strong, male blackeyes next to her. She giggles, as her eyeballs slowly turn normal again.

A overly happy smile on her face, Lillith runs towards Ruby, hugging her legs, as she can't reach any higher. "Oh Ruby, I'm so glad to see you!"

Disgusted, Ruby pulls away from her.

Lillith lets the body's eyes turn sad. "Why are you so cruel to me?"

Ruby laughs her light, silvery laugh. "Keep it down, bitch."

Behind her, Meg pulls out a long, sparkling knife. "You keep it down, _bitch_."

Lillith giggles again. "What are you gonna do?"

Ruby smirks. "Sprint my ass." Before she has ended her sentence, she's already half way up the stairs. _Dammit. _She' lost again. Ran away again. She needs to kill Meg. Then everyone else. Then try to get rid of Lillith, without breaking that damn freakin' seal. She walks past the huge, shiny window of the café again. Which was a mistake, because Dean had spotted her and stood up and now he's standing in front of her. She wants to ignore him and just slip past but her grabs her wrist and he won't let go, so she has to stay.

"Ruby. Sam. Tell me. The whole story."

"There's no _whole story._ Just freakin' tell your bro to stop getting sources about downstairs that waste a bullet in _the colt_! The colt _I _fixed for you, by the way." Ruby wants to go now, but Dean blocks her way. "So, he's kinda right, you know. Books don't have the right answers."

She shrugs, her face turns pissed again. "_I _have answers."

"Your chest is gonna waste a bullet, too, sweetheart."

She scoffs, rips her arm free, shoves him away, so hard, he stumbles against a parked car. Pissed, he kicks it. "Son of a bitch!" Ruby's gone, Duh. "Son of a bitch!" He repeats.

He crosses the road, to where he parked his Impala. There's a little white note lying on the seat.

**DID I MENTION? LILLITH'S IN TOWN. DON'T GET ANY FUNNY IDEAS; BOBBY KNOWS. _LILLITH. _FUCK, GO!**

Next to the note, there's a hexbag. One of those that get Lillith of his trail. If she even knew he was here. "Thanks Ruby." He mumbles.


	4. Somewhere, a clock is ticking

**[Chapter Four; Somewhere, a clock is ticking]**

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**

_I've got this feeling that there's something that I missed_

_I could do most anything to you..._

_Don't you breathe_

_Something happened, that I never understood_

_You can't leave_

_Every second, dripping off my fingertips_

_Wage your war_

_Another soldier, says he's not afraid to die_

_Well I am scared_

_In slow motion, the blast is beautiful_

_Doors slam shut_

_A clock is ticking, but it's hidden far away_

_Safe and sound_

Snow Patrol; Somewhere, a clock is ticking

* * *

Dean walks down a crowded road, when he hears determined steps behind him. He stops his move. "Ruby." He states.

"So, one week left, huh?" She scoffs.

He turns around. "Yeah, and in this weak, your being annoying is _not _appreciated."

"Yeah, well, whatever, I need tot talk to you."

"What could you possibly-"

She turns around disappointed. "Oh, quit it!" She yells, walking away, disappointed.

"Ruby! Wait!" He calls after her.

A slight smirk on her lips, she stops her departure.

"Why do you wanna talk?"

"Uh, I don't know, maybe 'cause you're dying next friday night?"

He laughs. "That's not a reason." _Is it? _

She shruggs. "Not to _you._"

"What?"

"Huh?"

"What do you wanna talk about?"

She opens her mouth, but he knows it's just going to be another excuse.

So he repeats. "What do you wanna talk about?"

She gulps. She doesn't want to offer this. But she's got no choice. "I found a way."

"You mean..." He gasps, surprised. "...to save me from hell?"

She nodds.

"It's bad, right? Something evil, demonish."

She smirks. "Yeah."

Dean cocks his head a little. "Now come on, tell me."

She raises one eyebrow. "Don't be pissed."

"Ruby, please."

"Alright."

She tells him, and he reacts just the way she expected him to.

"No, no way. I'm a _not _'re-selling' my soul, or whatever you call that!"

Even though she should've known, this was going to happen, she's really, really, _really _pissed. "Hey! I'm offering to kill myself! For you!" Angrily, seeping air in through her mouth, she turns away again.

He shakes his head. "Why would you do that?"

She doesn't reply, just keeps walking away from him. He runs after her. "Ruby! _Dammit_!"

When he's reached her, he's totally out of puff. "Why?"

Ruby turns to face him again so suddenly, he unknowingly takes a step back.

Even though Ruby still speaks in harsh, bitchy tone, her eyes are soft and thoughful. "To the guys down there, you're the king-size jackpot."

"In a bad way?"

She gives him a slight smirk. "Duh." Ruby turns looks away, then faces Dean again. "If either of you two gets into hell, they're gonna get you to start something... well... _big._"

"What's that?" Dean comes closer.

She nodds, looking worried. "The Apocalypse."

He frowns. "No, no way."

She laughs, rather out of sarcasm than amusement. "Yes way."

"They're not gonna make me start that shit."

Again, she laughs, just in the same way. "I thought you'd seen Hellraiser."


	5. Time to Start the Countdown, part I

**A/N: **New chapter! I'm sorry it's so short, I originally intended to put all four days in one chapter, but then I'd be able to post something new about next spring. Meh.

**

* * *

[Chapter Five; Time to start the countdown]**

_Well, I can't...well, I can! _

_Too much, too late, or just not enough of this _

_Pain in my heart for your dying wish, _

_I'll kiss your lips again. _

_My Chemical Romance; You Know What they do to guys like us in Prison_

_Ruby has three days left. Four days, to save Dean Winchester from being dragged to hell. Literally. God, she was fucked._

I.

Two weeks ago, the Winchesters stopped taking cases. They had been hanging out at Bobby's house since then, Ruby had watched. The poor man must be going insane by now.

She decides that if they refuse to come out, she has to come in. She walks up to the tall wooden door, knocks. They probably can tell it's her by the sound of the knock. And yep, they can. Sam opens up, Dean standing next to him.

"Oh great, here's Lillith's messenger." Dean scoffs, analyzing her from her head to her toes.

"Hi." She smiles. "I'm just here to check if you're even worth dragging to hell, you know, big boss is worried your meat isn't really fresh. And _god,_ it's moldy."

Sam sighs. Dean nodds at Bobby's living room. "Get in."

Before every step she takes, Ruby examines the floor and ceiling, she won't rot in a devil's trap in that house for until they totally ruined the future. She finally considers the couch a safe place, sits down.

"Hey, that's my seat." Dean growls.

She raises her eyebrows. "Don't see your brand on it, partner." He tries to push her away, gives up after a few seconds, sits down next to her.

Bobby sighs. "You two can fight later. How about _after _we lift your ass off the pit, Dean."

Dean cocks his head. "Come on Bobby, admitt it, she's useless." Ruby slaps him in the head.

"She's aggressive. Could support us." Bobby responds.

Dean leans back, stretches his arms. He puts one arm around Ruby's shoulders. "So, you heard?" He says, grinning at her. "We're keeping you, evil little soldier."

He just hurt her. She's not angry at him, he didn't know. He can't. But still, this hurt. "Get your hand, where it was before, if you wanna keep it." She growls. "Why are so happy about, anyway? You're _dying._"

That hurt him. "Oh, right, thanks for reminding me."

Sam sighs. "Hey, you're not alone here. Now let's get this plan finished."

Ruby sits up. "Plan?" She's now giving Sam her full attention.

Dean roll his eyes. "To kill Lillith."

Frowning, she shakes her head. "No. You _musn't _kill her."

"Ah!" Dean yells, now pointing at her. "See? I was right, I always was right."

Ruby moans. "Long story, actually."

"Tell us, we've got time."

She laughs. "Oh, yeah. Maybe I'll come down to visit you in hell one day. _That's _were you've got time."

Sam makes an annoyed sound, then stands up. "I'm gonna make coffee." He leaves, stomping off in the kitchen's direction.

"So, I'm supposed to do that... well other plan of yours?" Dean asks.

She smirks. "Keep thinking bout it, huh?" Then her face turns serious again. "We need to get another demon to hold the contract."

"Oh, sure, easy."

Ruby rolls her eyes. "Why don't you just rot in hell? Oh, right, if you don't listen to me, you're gonna do that anyway." While talking, she leans back and crosses her arms.

"Will you stop picking on me?"

Sam returns, carrying a huge white can and four cups. Ruby immediately snatches herself a black cup, pours the coffee in.

"Whoa, easy." Dean, who she shoved out of her way, complains.

Sam puts the other cups and the can onto the table, sits down on his armchair.

Ruby takes a sip of the hot, black coffee, then decides it needs to be sweetened.

Sam starts talking. "So, switch to serious, guys. We need a plan."

Ruby leans forward. "Well, there's a spell."

Dean rolls his eyes. "Bet it requiers a virgin's eyeballs or something."

She stands up, coffee still in her hands and cocks her head. "Excuse me? I think you need someone pouring coffee onto your head, dick."

He stares at her, seeming shocked, stumbles backwards, even falls of the couch. "Whatever you just did, _don't _do it again you crazy bitch!" He gasps.

Ruby would slap him in the head for calling her bitch, but this time she just frowns. She didn't do anything. Not even flash her eyes. "What did I do?"

"Huh? Move your face? Creepily?"

Ruby thinks about it, and when she realises what he means, her eyes whiden in shock. "Hellhounds!"

"What?!" Sam jumps off his armchair. "They're not supposed to be here! They're early!"

"Early or not, get your asses in here!" Bobby yells from the kitchen. They do what he says, because in the kitchen there's salt and salt is protection.

Dean frowns at Ruby. "Woman, how were you able to _not _spill your coffee?"

She looks down on her hands, which she has wrapped around the cup. She's afraid she's going to have to pry every single finger off. "_The Colt _would be great, thanks." She responds, ignoring how that's just totally out of context.

"Ruby, face it, we don't have it."

"Yeah, _real _great work, guys."

One hell hound rattles the door, but can't get it, because of the salt line.

"Bobby, did you seal the windows?" Dean asks.

"Boy, I'm old, not stupid." He replies grumpy.

Sam frowns, like so often in these days. "Hellhounds attacking. Much too early. But why would they do that?"

The demon shrugs. "Hungry. Eager for fresh meat."

From outside the small kitchen, they all hear the hell hounds crush things, probably chairs, tables, something wooden.

She sits down on the cooker. "One knife..."

Dean interrupts her. "Ruby, the cooker still is _on._"

She turns around irritated, the turns it of. "Didn't feel it. Anyway, we've got one knife and about.. how many hellhounds? Fuck, why do these things have to be invisible again?"

Dean crosses his arms. "Why don't you stop thinking aloud?"

"Right. I forgot. _You _can't think aloud, because _you _don't think." She scoffs.

"Ruby, Dean, please." Sam moans. "Why don't we just leave them in? We can just shoot them."

"Oh, yeah, and get skinned alive." Ruby hopps down from the cooker. She nodds. "But apart from that, not such a bad idea."

Ruby looks outside, where the sun is slowly setting. "Oh, and I know what they're doing here, much too early." She turns to face Dean. "They're making us loose one day."


End file.
